Patronage
by ThatGreekLady
Summary: Anastasia had lived a sheltered life under the protection of her father but everything changes when she finds herself captured despite all the security measures. Unwillingly getting involved in the conflict between pirates and the search for immortality, she struggles to keep her father's secrets and discovers that not everything is as it seems. OMC/OFC Rated M for safety
1. Chapter 1

"Mom, does dad love me?"

A woman with brown hair and hazel eyes kneeled in front of the six years old girl.

"Of course he loves you," said mother, "we both do."

"But he's never here," pouted the little girl, "he didn't even come to my concert!"

The woman sighed,"come I want to show you a secret."

"A secret?" Is it a present?" asked the girl excitedly.

"Not today young lady," mother chuckled.

They walked to father's study. The girl was very curious because she had never been inside before. The walls of the room were covered with photographs of fruits in several colors and shapes, posters of scary looking men, maps of places she had never seen before.

"You need to rpomiseme you won't tell anyone," said mother.

"Who would I tell? It's not like I have any friends." It was true. The kids in her school didn't seem to like her very much. The girl was convinced it was because she was ugly. Mother had told her it was just because she was shy.

Mother stroked her head and gave her a kiss on the forehead. The girl didn't want to admit it (because she was too old for these things of course!) but she loved these affectionate gestures.

"Come look at this," said mom. She lifted the young girl with the arms so that she could better see a certain picture. It was something that looked like a fruit except that the girl had never seen anything like that before.

"It's...ehh..a white heart?"

Mother smiled. "This is a devil fruit. It grants you special powers."

"Does it make you control lava like dad?"

"Oh no, it's different, better in many ways. It allows you to stay young forever, it gives you immortality and eternal youth... and it also... it also cures the one who eats it from any father stays away from home because he is searching for that fruit for us, because he loves us. Because he wants us to be together forever."

The girl couldn't quite understand. "If he wants us to be together, why doesn't he stay with us instead of searching for a fruit?"

The woman stayed silent for a few seconds. The girl had already started getting bored and considered leaving to go play with her piano. Dad's study was not as interesting as she had expected. She didn't like where this conversation was going. Mother had been acting weird lately.

"Ana listen to me," the girl turned to look at her mother. The older woman was pale and she had dark circles under her eyes. She always looked tired these days.

"I want you to promise me something. I want to to always take care of your father, because even though he's not the most expressive person, he really loves you dearly. He loves both of us. Please never let your father be alone."

"Why would I leave him alone mother, didn't you say the three of us would be together forever?"

Mother smiled sadly. "Come sweetie, I will teach you another song."

...

It looked like a day like all others. Anastasia had finished her homework and was now practicing on the piano. Mother was in another room probably washing the dishes or preparing dinner. Then the unexpected happened.

A loud noise interrupted Anastasia's song. "Mom? Mom are you alright?"

No answer. Ana felt her heart sinking and rushed downstairs.

"Mom? MOM?"

Mother was on the floor, her eyes closed, her chest not moving.

"Mom?" the girl started sobbing, "mom are you feeling ill, do you need medicine? Mom please wake up you can't sleep on the floor."

Mother would never wake up again. The dream of the family being together forever had ended.

"Dad? Dad I wish you were here."

Father did his best to comfort his daughter after mother's death. He bought her the best piano, the most expensive toys, he hired the most well-known teachers and baby-sitters to take care of her. He didn't stay at home a lot, the nature of his job meant he had to travel a lot. Ana wished he would spend more time with her, but was also proud of her father being out there catching the bad guys. When he returned he would sometimes tell her stories about lands far away, creatures that were half human, half fish, giants more than ten metres tall. Other times he was cold, didn't talk much and spent hours locked in his study, not seeing anyone. Anastasia learned to accept her father's mood swings.

Years passed. Dad got promotted to admiral. Anastasia was now a teenager with brown hair and bright green eyes. She didn't have many friends and spent most of her free time playing music and writing in her diary.

One day, a maid told her Father was downstairs and wished to see her. Having not seen him for a very long time, she quickly put on her dress and went to meet him.

"Father!" she jumped to him and hugged him. Sakazuki looked a little uncomfortable with such a display. She heard someone chuckling and turned a little red. She hadn't expected other people to be here.

"Anastasia child, do try to control your emotions," said Dad, "I have someone I want you to meet."

There was a young man, and boy was he unbelievably handsome. He was tall with white hair, blue eyes and a confident expression. The girl blushed and he raised his eyebrow.

"This is James Evans from the country of Dressrosa," said Dad, "he has worked for me in the past and I trust his abilities. He will be your bodyguard, you can't go out alone anymore since I have enemies who might wish to target you. We have also taken measures to hide your identiy. From now on you will introduce yourself as Anastasia Evans and hide your true surname. Do you understand child?"

"Y-Yes Father," she swallowed awkwardly and cursed her terrible social skills.

James smiled, "lets get to know each other better...Miss Evans," he shook her hand and planted a kiss on her knuckles.


	2. Chapter 2

It was another normal day in the small village of Bright Dawn. The farmers woke up early to go to the fields while the women would collect the eggs, feed the chickens and milk the cows. The wealthier residents of the village would wake up a little later to take care of the businesses.

Anastasia Evans, a 17 years old young lady was sipping her coffee while writing in her diary. She was living in a small but comfortable house with a garden. For security reasons her father had got rid of most of the servants. The only that had remained were Jasmine the maid and close friend of Ana and of course James the bodyguard.

Ana noticed the pelican flying towards her with the newspaper. She was determined to read the news every single day as she was worried about her father who spent a lot of time on dangerous missions on the sea.

She gave the bird a few coins and unwrapped the paper, she took a look on the headlines and almost choked and spew her coffee.

"Miss Ana, are you alright?" Jasmine rushed to her side and started hitting her back to help her breath.

"I'm alright, I'm alright Jasmine, ouch don't hit too hard! Just look at this," she pointed at the newspaper, "I can't believe the nerve of that man."

The maid look at the paper and gasped. Strawhat Luffy had returned to Marineford together with Jimbe and an old man that was believed to be Silvers Rayleigh, to pay their respects to the dead and intimidate the marines no doubt.

"How incompetent are these marines, so many of them and can't even catch three terrorists who walked right into their base," Ana sighed, "if daddy was there they wouldn't have dared to show their faces."

"Of course Miss, you father is the bravest and strongest of the marines. He proved it during the war."

Ana shuddered at the thought of the war. She had gone to Sabaody with James to watch the execution on the big screen. Her father had told her they expected an attack and she was worried sick about him. The suspicions of the marines were proven correct when Whitebeard, a terrifying man, and his crew attacked the base soon followed by Strawhat Luffy who had escaped prison with several convicts.

The war was horrible. There were times where Ana couldn't bare to watch and hid her face on James' shoulders. Her father finally managed to execute Firefist Ace but was then assaulted by a furious Whitebeard. She had cried when she saw father taking a devastating hit that split the earth, but James had assured her that an admiral wouldn't go down that easily.

The war ended with a victory of the marines as Whitebeard had died standing, refusing to fall even after death. However, the casualties were many. Several families lost their fathers, sons and brothers that day. Ana was shocked when her father almost killed a young pink-haired marine of getting in his way, but tried to rationalize it. This boy was a traitor, he deserved to die, necessary sacrifice for the absolute justice, her father would say.

"Do you think daddy will get the promotion?" asked Ana. Fleet admiral Sengoku had announced his retirement. One of the admirals would take his position. Of course her father was the one who deserved it the most, not that "halfwit Borsalino" or that "oversensitive hippie Kuzan" as he would call them.

"Of course Miss. When he returns from his mission, he will get the seat."

The maid started braiding Ana's hair. The girl read the newspaper, but there was no mention of her father. She sighed. She hasn't seen him for more than two months.

James was standing in the doorway smoking a cigarette and talking to a den den mushi. Their eyes met and he smiled and winked. Even though Ana had known the man for several years she still couldn't help but blush. She had been in love with him ever since she first met him when she was 14.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" said Ana to the maid, trying to distract herself so that she would stop staring at James like an idiot.

...

Ana spent the afternoon playing the piano. It was a relaxing activity and what she liked to do best. She wished James was there to listen to her but the man was probably at the pub. It was a violation of his contract as Father had told him to stay with Ana at all times, but the girl would never rat him out.

She lied on her bed wondering what kind of adventure her father was having. Perhaps she would try to talk to him on the den den mushi in the morning.

"I can't believe we're about to abduct a maiden, shit just got real dude. I feel like a real pirate."

"Will you shut up?"

She opened her eyes. To her horror she came face to face with strange men. She shrieked and one of them covered her mouth with this hand. The other grabbed her arms to prevent her from fighting.

"No point in struggling pretty."

Her heart was beating fast. She struggled to think clearly. She thought about the martial arts her father had taught her. It all seemed pointless now that two physically stronger men had pinned her down. Where were James? Jasmine?

She felt pain in her arm. To her horror she saw one of the men giving her an injection. She tried to break free. It was futile. She felt her strength abandoning her.

She felt numb when she woke up. At first she thought she had a nightmare but screamed when she realized she wasn't in her bed.

She looked around. She in a room with wooden walls and no windows. A man with long blond hair and a mask was sitting in a chair next to her.

"Finally awake huh?"

"Who are you? Where am I?" she tried to keep her voice firm but failed. She sounded like a terrified kitten.

"It doesn't matter who I am, what matters is who you are," said the man simply, "you're on a ship and will be staying here for a while. I apologize for the rough treatment, I hope my men didn't do anything inappropriate."

"W-what do you want?"

"Where is the devil fruit of youth? "asked the man crossing his legs. His voice was calm, like they were having an ordinary conversation. It was almost comical.

"The what?"

"The devil fruit that grants eternal youth and immortality. The enom enom no mi."

"How would I know?" This was crazy. Some men she had never seen before had kidnapped her to apparently interrogate her about something she didn't even know.

"We know who you are and we know your father is hiding it," said the masked man.

She swallowed, "I don't know what..."

"Don't play dumb with me Koguchi Anastasia, where is the fruit? When is your father coming back?"

She was breathing heavily and sweating. These men knew who she was. How was it possible? Her father had gone to unbelievable lengths to hide her identity.

"How do you know who I am?"

"Where is the fruit?" he ignored her question.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, "but my father will destroy you all if you do anything to me."

He actually chuckled. "Do you think Akainu would risk the life of his only daughter, our hostage, to kill some pirates? Pretty cold-hearted even for him. However don't worry about it honey, he will never find out where you are."

"I don't know what fruit you're talking about, you will get nothing from me."

They stayed silent for a minute. Ana couldn't see his face but she could swear he was studying her curiously.

"We'll see about that," he said standing up, "you will stay here for the time being and I would suggest you to not try anything funny. Nobody in this ship will harm you but our captain can be an…ehm… impulsive and impatient man."

"Where are James and Jasmine?" she asked before he left the room.

He didn't answer and simply left locking the door behind him. Ana started punching the wall in frustration. If she had been as strong as her father she could destroy the wall with her bare fists and escape this place.


	3. Chapter 3

Having given up on his rather corrupted and oppressive family, Killer had been traveling the seas on his own for a long time, hiding his true identity and feeling free for the first time in his life.

He met Eustass Kidd when he was 24 years old and the two formed a partnership that soon evolved into a friendship despite the differences in their personalities. When Killer jokingly mentioned the two should travel to the seas to find the legendary treasure of One Piece, he was surprised with how enthusiastic Kidd became with the idea.

A few weeks later the red head announced that he had stolen a ship for them to sail out. Killer was gobsmacked at first but Kidd's eagerness was contagious, so he soon found himself being the first mate of a pirate crew while he and his overly passionate captain traveled from island to island gathering crew mates and searching for clues. Kidd was hot-headed and sometimes used extreme methods that made Killer uncomfortable, but never openly judged the red haired man because he also carried many sins from the past.

Here they were now, almost two years after their first meeting, Killer found his captain drinking with a blond woman on his lap. He dropped onto a chair and waited patiently until the two of them paid attention to him.

"How did it go? Did she say anything?," said the woman, her cheeks red from having drank too much sake.

"No, I don't think we can make her speak so easily," Killer sighed, "I assume she knows you as Jasmine? She asked about you."

The woman chuckled. "I spent years of my life suffering from that little brat's whims just because I hoped to get a hand on the devil fruit of youth. Now that she's finally away from her daddy, we can finally interrogate her properly."

"I didn't have a chance to take a look at Akainu's daughter when they brought her here," said Kidd planting kisses on the woman's neck. "Is she pretty or dog-faced like her father?"

Jasmine smacked him playfully on the shoulder. "She's rather on the ugly side if you ask me, but that shouldn't be your concern baby."

"Are we sure she even knows anything?" asked Killer. He didn't like the idea of "interrogating" a little girl. He was sure Kidd would never torture someone innocent but the man was also known for losing his temper sometimes and he didn't know much about this woman or what her game was.

"Even if she doesn't know anything, having an admiral's daughter in our hands can only be a good thing, right?" the woman smirked, "but I'm sure she's hiding something, she always got evasive when I tried to get her to spill the beans in the past."

"Will using him get us the results we want?"

"Oh yes, she's crazy about him like a lovestruck schoolgirl," said Jasmine.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Lets go for it," said Kidd hiccuping.

"Captain, don't you want to wait until ehm.. you're more sober?" said Killer nervously. Kidd was less likely to act impulsively if he was sober.

"Nah, lets go do it right now," the redhead smirked, "I can't wait to meet our guest."

…..

Ana had been trying to pick the lock with her hairpin for the last thirty minutes. She was very frustrated to find out that these things were harder than in the books she read. Either that or she was doing it wrong. She should have followed father's advice and carry a knife everywhere even when she was sleeping. Perhaps she would be able to use it against that blond man? Would she even be able to do anything against him?

She kicked the door and started sobbing. She wanted to see her father. She wanted to go home.

She heard someone unlocking the door and jumped back hiding the hairpin inside her bra.

The masked man stepped into the room and sat on the chair. He didn't say anything for a few minutes. Ana refused to look at him and started staring at her hands instead.

"Did you decide to cooperate?" he finally said.

"Cooperate? I told you I can't help you. I don't have what you need."

"Very well, perhaps this will make you reconsider. Bring him in!" he shouted the last words.

What she saw made her scream. A tall red-haired man appeared carrying a tied up James Evans.

"No! Please no! Let him go. He has nothing to do with it," she shrieked.

A bunch of knives and swords that seemed to appear out of nowhere hovered above them and targeted James, her James…

"Please, I'll do what you want, just let him go," Ana sobbed. She was so scared she couldn't even look at James in the eyes. It was all her fault…

"We know your father has the devil fruit of eternal youth," said the blond pirate, "where is it? Speak or we'll tear your little friend into pieces."

"I don't know! I really don't know," the swords flew towards James like controlled by some invisible magical source, one of them pierced the skin of his neck until there was blood, "NO! Please, please, please don't do it."

"I think that's enough," said the blond haired man.

The red head released James who started rubbing the scratch on his neck.

"There, there don't cry now. See your little prince is safe and sound," said Kidd chuckling while sitting on the bed next to her. She moved away from him in panic only to end up falling on the floor. She heard loud laughter. She recognized it. She had heard it in the past.

"James?" she turned and looked at him. His blue eyes were unusually cold and his expression was unreadable.

"My name is not James," he said simply.

"You were too soft on her," said a feminine voice. Ana felt her blood freezing.

Jasmine the maid appeared. Unlike her usual submissive and sweet demeanor, she now projected an air of calm self-confidence. "She knows something," she said decisively, "I don't know why she insists on protecting the secrets of her trash of a father but…"

The woman couldn't finish her sentence because Ana jumped on her and started punching her wherever she could. "Don't-talk-that-way-about-my-father!"

She felt someone grabbing her from behind to restrain her. She punched and kicked and screamed but the arms were too strong. She knew these arms. They belonged to a man she thought she knew.

"You betrayed me!" she shouted, "you betrayed me! Stay away from me!"

"She has lost it," said James, "bring something to calm her down."

Ana was so enraged she couldn't even see what was happening around her. She simply kept trying to hit the man who was holding her in any way she could. She felt someone grabbing her arm and giving her an injection. She screamed until she passed out.


	4. Chapter 4

Ana woke up in a hard mattress. This wasn't her own bed. This wasn't just a nightmare.

She opened her eyes and found herself in a cold, dull cabin with no windows and a locked metal door. She tried standing up but her head started spinning. She groaned and started breathing heavily to ease her headache.

James, how could you? We've known each other for years. I trusted you almost as much as I trust father.

Father, where are you right now? Did you succeed in your mission? I know you must be safe, nobody can take down someone as powerful as you. How worried will you be when you find out I'm missing?

Jasmine, you were my only real friend after mother died. I told you my secrets and my dreams. How could you betray me like this?

Someone knocked on the door. She shivered. What could they possibly want from her now?

It was probably the last person she wanted to see. The silver-haired man she once knew as James Evans, the reliable, trustworthy bodyguard.

"You can eat here or come down and join us," he announced. She avoided his eyes.

"Why the hell would I join you?" she spat.

"Well, you always hated being alone, didn't you?"

"You're a monster," she shrieked, "first you betray me and now you make fun of me."

"Ana..." he sat on the bed next to her, offering a bowl of ramen and a glass of water. She grabbed them and threw them on the wall shattering the glass and spilling its contents.

James eyes sparkled but his expression remained unreadable.

"You will clean that," he stated in an authoritative tone, "you won't get anything to eat until dinner."

"You're horrible," she said," when did you become like this?"

"You can't go around provoking the pirates, if staying hungry for a while is what it takes to..."

"I don't care about the damn food!" she yelled at him, "how could you betray me? I-I trusted you."

She felt so stupid saying these things now, "what do you want from me?"

"Ana.." she put his hand on her shoulder but she jerked it away,"if you cooperate and stop acting like a child, you will have a comfortable life here. You won't be allowed to leave the ship under any circumstances, you will not see your father again, at least not in the near future, but if you play it right, you will not be mistreated. Accept your situation, these pirates are ruthless but not malicious, they wouldn't harm you for no reason. However I can't guarantee your safety if you keep provoking them."

"Who are you?" she asked looking very tired.

He raised his eyebrow and studied her face.

"You can keep calling me James," he said with a small smile, "but my real name is William Hendrickson. The woman you know as Jasmine is my sister, Selena- yes I know we don't look alike-Selena and I have always been very dedicated to our ambitions. I want to find the legendary One Piece, she wants to be young forever. We worked as assassins for the government a few years ago to find some clues but when we heard rumors that Admiral Akainu knew about the devil fruit of youth, we arranged it to get hired by him, supposedly as your protectors. We couldn't let the opportunity slip."

"But you didn't find anything because the fruit is a myth," she gritted her teeth.

"It's not a myth, there are plenty of historical sources about its existence. It is believed that nobody ever ate it though and its location is a mystery."

"Why did you kidnap me? I don't know anything about the damn fruit."

"It was a smart thing to use you. You have a lot of value as a hostage."

"Father won't let it pass. You dug your own grave. You should have known Father despises traitors."

He grinned. Ana was horrified to discover that being evil didn't stop him from being breathtakingly attractive when he smiled.

"Admiral Akainu will be no threat to us as long as we have you," he said confidently," he has only one weakness and we were lucky enough to discover it." You're wrong! Father will stop at nothing when it comes to absolute justice. He would...He would rather k-kill a few innocents than let a criminal escape."

"You really think your father would let you die?" he asked softly.

"Yes and I'm okay with it. Everything for the greater good," she said but didn't sound so sure now. Would father really let her die? Was justice more important to him that his own daughter? Was she truly okay with that?

"Come lets take a walk," he said.

Her eyes widened, "what? You mean I can get out of here."

"If you're with me, sure why not?"

"You're so scared of me that you keep me locked at all times?"

James laughed. "We don't consider you a danger, no, we're in the middle of the ocean so you really have nowhere to go. We keep you locked for your own safety. This is an all man crew, you see, if you don't count my sister. We can't guarantee they will all act like gentlemen when it comes to you."

Ana groaned. So they underestimated her that much? It was ok. Her father always said that's it's better when they underestimate you.

She followed him tο the deck and was happy to see the sun again. Several pirates were there and turned to look at them curiously. Most of them had died hair, tattoos and piercings.

"They look like a bunch of goths," she whispered in James' ear and he chuckled.

"I assume you want to take a bath? Don't worry it's in my bedroom, nobody will disturb you," he told her. He nodded hesitantly. "Come, it's this way."

He led her to his cabin that had a small bathroom and told her to take her time. She double locked the bathroom's door and sighed, thinking about everything that had happened that day. I have no other choice but to trust him, she decided. Antagonizing him will do no good in my situation.

James collapsed onto his bed and lit up a cigarette waiting for her to finish. For the first time in years, he felt the emotion that he thought he had permanently got rid of after working for years as an assassin: Guilt. Focus on your goal, he told himself. Guilt is a useless emotion, there is no good or evil, there is only the power I will obtain when I reach One Piece. The girl is only a pawn, a simple woman like all the others. Her only value to me is that of a hostage.

…..

Admiral Sakazuki had had a very bad day. First five out of the ten pirate crews he tried to capture had escaped him all because he didn't use his full power in order to not harm any innocents with the crossfire. Some years ago he would have never hold back when it came to pirates, but after the criticism he received for his actions in the Ohara incident, he avoided putting innocents in danger when he could help it. That didn't stop him from feeling enraged as he watched all these criminals make a run for it. People just didn't understand that Akainu would actually save more lives in the long term if they allowed him to sacrifice a few citizens in order to prevent pirates from committing even more brutal atrocities in the future.

As if that wasn't bad enough, he got a letter from Sengoku with the announcement that Aokiji was the main candidate for the new fleet admiral. Akainu snorted as he read it. If that moron Kuzan got his way, he would probably ban the use of lethal weapons, preach anti-violence nonsense and turn the marines into a bunch of oversensitive hippies. Akainu wouldn't allow this to happen as long as he lived.

He groaned as he heard the den den mushi ringing. They wouldn't even allow him to relax for one minute.

"Admiral Akainu here, state your business and I hope for your own good it's something important," he barked after picking up the den den mushi.

"Ehh..Sir.." said a shaking voice he didn't recognize at first, "sir, this is Brandon. I-I went to check up on your house as we had agreed," Brandon hesitated, "sir, your house is empty. Your daughter was nowhere to be seen."

Akainu paled. "Are you sure they weren't just taking a walk in the village? Because if you wasted my time for no reason…"

"No Sir. I waited for hours, I searched the whole village, I asked everyone. Nobody has seen your daughter or the bodyguard or the maid."

They were silent for almost a moment. The young marine hesitated. "S-Sir?"

"Say that again," said Akainu and the marine was shocked when he heard the fear in the admiral's voice.

"I-I checked your house as you told me," he swallowed, "your daughter was not there or in the village. Neither were the body guard or…"

Akainu hang up, his hands shaking. Why now of all times? How could it be possible? He had carefully erased all evidence that he had a daughter. He had hired two of the strongest government assassins for her protection. Who could have possibly found out? Akainu hated jokes but he sincerely hoped this was some kind of a prank because the alternative was too terrifying.

Only a handful of marines knew his secret and Akainu was sure they wouldn't betray him. Was he wrong to trust them? No, even with help, idiots like Brandon wouldn't be able to anything against the Evans siblings.

The siblings…Akainu felt his heart sinking. They were supposed to raise the alarm if anything happened. There were two possible reasons why they couldn't have done that: Either they got knocked out too quickly (unlikely, they both were very skilled fighters) or they were the ones behind his daughter's disappearance.

His fear turned into rage. He started shaking violently. He didn't even notice that lava was coming out of his body melting his desk and the floor. He punched the door and broke it into pieces.

"We change our route," he shouted to his crew, "turn the ship towards the northeast."

"But the prisoners…"started saying one of the newest marines but quickly shut up when he saw the look on the admiral's face.

"The prisoners…"Akainu grinned but it was a crazy, terrifying smile. He almost looked like a mad dog, "I will take care of the prisoners personally. Now change the route of the ship. We have work to do."

The marines looked at each other well aware of how their captain would "take care" of the prisoners but nobody dared to say anything.

Akainu breathed heavily trying to suppress his rage. Destroying the whole ship would be redundant at this point. He would go back and investigate himself. He would burn the whole New World if he had to in order to find his daughter and let those fools Sengoku and Kuzan try to get in his way.


End file.
